


Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, and Doc

by Soleya



Series: Fifty First Dates [9]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29423877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soleya/pseuds/Soleya
Summary: Fifty First Dates.  It's not a total loss. Payback for "Karma."
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Fifty First Dates [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707853
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, and Doc

Jack O’Neill ignored the stares he was getting as he walked into the SGC with a bundle of flowers. A small bundle, because he wanted to bring _something_ but she’d get annoyed if he made a show of it. And besides, he had to leave room to upgrade when they actually got to have their first date.

Which wasn’t going to be that night, despite six months o under-table-dealing and command-shifting followed by three weeks of planning and plane tickets and restaurant reservations. He’d had a sinking feeling she would find a way to back out. He’d just figured she’d choose a less painful – and less ego-crushing – way to do it than tripping down the stairs on an alien planet and breaking her tibia.

Straight through her skin, apparently.

Daniel had thrown up, apparently.

Pansy.

Jack’s footsteps as he swung open the infirmary doors caught Doctor Lam’s attention; she stopped just outside her office and looked up from her clipboard. “General O’Neill.”

“How’s she doin’?” he asked. He didn’t need to specify.

“Doing well, all things considered,” Lam told him, letting the clipboard drop to her side. “Surgery was successful; the bone is pinned and externally fixated. We won’t be able to cast it until the wound has healed more, but there are no signs of infection or complications.”

“Excellent.” Jack took two more steps but stopped at the look on her face. He didn’t know the woman well, but something was definitely not right.

“Are you… going to see her?” the doctor asked slowly.

Of course he was. What else would he be doing in the infirmary in a base he no longer commanded, more than halfway across the country, with flowers in his hands? “Yes,” he answered pointedly.

“Uh….” She cleared her throat uneasily. “You should probably know….”

Jack frowned. “You said she was okay.”

“She… is. But her charts are full of notations about how she metabolizes pain medications so quickly, so I tried something… new.”

“And it’s not working.” Between his tone and his glare, he was _certain_ she knew how pissed he’d be if he walked in to find Carter writhing in her hospital bed.

But she said, “Oh, no. It’s working. She’s not in pain.”

Eyes narrowed, he asked, “But?”

“There are… a few unexpected side effects,” she hedged. “Colonel Carter is… not exactly her usual chipper self.”

“How so?”

“Well, she’s… very tired. That’s understandable. And a little out of it. And… well… let’s call it ‘moody.’”

“Moody,” Jack echoed. “Interesting.” That wasn’t a word that usually applied to his former second, though she’d had her moments. “Well.” Gesturing further into the infirmary, he headed past her.

“Good luck,” she said.

They’d put her in one of the isolation rooms, as usual for a longer-term patient. The main ward tended to be fairly noisy and active, with only curtains to isolate the sound, making it difficult for a patient to rest. But with all of Doctor Lam’s warnings, it was entirely possible they’d put Carter there to protect the rest of the infirmary from _her_ rather than the other way around.

The click of the door roused her from her sleep. Her eyes scanned him, then the flowers he held.

And her expression promptly slid into one Jack had never seen from her before. One he could only call ‘full pout.’ He couldn’t help it; the corner of his mouth turned up a bit. “How are you feeling?”

“Stupid,” she groused.

He smiled a little more. “You’re not stupid,” he told her, setting the vase he carried on a table as he settled into a chair beside her. The leg closest to him was comfortably under a blanket; the one on the other side was bandaged and caught in a contraption of wires and bars to hold the bone in place. “A little klutzy, maybe. With terrible timing, definitely. But you’re not stupid.” He’d never done it before, but he slid his hands under the blanket to find her fingers and wrapped them tenderly in his own.

She looked like she was about to cry. “You didn’t have to come.”

“Of course I came. I wanted to see you. And the flights were arranged, anyway.”

“I know, but it’s such a waste,” she complained. “I’m sorry.”

“Sam.” Tugging her hand out from under the blanket, he pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers. “You don’t need to be sorry. It was an accident. We’ll reschedule.”

That didn’t soothe her at all; if anything, the level of sulking increased tenfold. “I was really looking forward to it. I had _plans_.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jack had had plans, too.

“I bought a new dress,” she grumbled, and the sheer level of grouchiness brought the smile back to his face. “And new… other things.”

“ _Other_ things?” Well, _that_ caught his attention. He hadn’t been one hundred percent certain how their date would end… but apparently she had been. “Hell, now _I’m_ disappointed, too.”

“See? Told you.”

It came out so churlish, so surly that he couldn’t help but chuckle at her. Giving her fingers a squeeze, he said, “I promise you that I will happily compliment the new dress _and_ all the other new things when you’re healed up. You could even buy _new_ new things by then, and I’ll look at all of them. I won’t mind. Promise.”

She didn’t get the humor in that; she just pouted more. And he knew he shouldn’t laugh at her, but it was awfully hard not to. “How ‘bout this,” he offered. “We don’t have to miss out on _everything_ tonight.”

Suspicion crept in with the sulking. “What do you mean?”

“Scoot over.”

“What?”

He pushed to his feet. “Make room, Colonel.”

Slowly, with effort, she shifted to the left side of the infirmary bed. Ever so carefully, he settled in beside her, one arm under his head and the other hand warm on her cheek. “Better?”

She nodded. The pout was still in full force, but the lines on her forehead had eased, at least. She looked just slightly less miserable, and that was a win. Jack pressed his lips tenderly to her cheek, then the corner of her lips, then -

“I haven’t brushed my teeth in two days.”

That did it; Jack had to bury his face in her pillow as he laughed at her. “Oh, Grumpy, I don’t care. C’mere.”

It was a chaste kiss – because she was doped up and in pain and more seemed unsporting. And because they were technically in public. And because, while Jack could get over a little bit of morning breath, two days without a toothbrush was pushing it. Still, the brief contact was enough, and she tilted her cheek against him as he settled his head down beside her.

“Colonel, I have your -”

Jack raised his head to look at the nurse who’d stopped dead in the doorway. “Carry on, Lieutenant.”

“Uh, yes, sir.”

He let his head drop back to rest on his arm as the nurse started to swap out an IV bag. The position left his lips right next to Carter’s ear, and he just couldn’t help himself. “We’ll have to figure out what kind of help you need when you get home.” It was quiet, but definitely loud enough for the nurse to hear. “I volunteer to help with the new things.”

Carter snorted softly. “Of course you do.”

“I could do some shopping for you, too, if you’re not up to it.”

She elbowed him.

“If… you need anything else, I’m on shift all night,” the nurse volunteered uncomfortably. She was at the door in a few quick steps and pulled it tightly shut behind her.

“Wonder if she’s got an extra sock,” Jack murmured.

“You’re awful.”

“You love me,” he challenged, then added more gently, “and I love you, too.”

Finally, a smile crept across her face as she pressed her lips to his once more. “I do.”

“Good. Get some sleep, Grumpy.”

“Yes, sir.”


End file.
